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Purveyor's JournalRussian Foreign Minister Accuses U.S. Of Double Standard On Syria
Source: LA TIMES
By Sergei L. Loiko
September 2, 2013, 11:41 a.m.
MOSCOW -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington of applying a double standard in its approach to Syria and said its evidence that President Bashar Assad's regime used chemical weapons is unconvincing.
“It is very odd to hear … my good friend, U.S. State Secretary John Kerry, claiming that the U.S. side presented Russians with irrefutable evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria,” Lavrov told students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on Monday. “We were shown some data which contained nothing concrete: neither geographical coordinates, nor names nor proof that the probes were taken by professionals.”
Lavrov said the United States used a double standard in dealing with Syria and the Middle East in general.
“It is a personal issue based on a personal dislike for some authoritarian dictator, whereas dictators for whom there is no dislike are not talked about because they are assistants and allies for our Western partners,” he said. “Terrorists should not be divided into good and bad; it is absolutely unprofessional and shortsighted.”
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-russian-foreign-minister-syria-us-20130902,0,4255096.story
As Obama Blinks On Syria, Israel And Saudi Arabia Make Common Cause
JERUSALEM/RIYADH: If President Barack Obama has disappointed Syrian rebels by deferring to Congress before bombing Damascus, he has also dismayed the United States' two main allies in the Middle East.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have little love for each other but both are pressing their mutual friend in the White House to hit President Bashar al-Assad hard. And both do so with one eye fixed firmly not on Syria but on their common adversary — Iran.
Israel's response to Obama's surprise move to delay or even possibly cancel air strikes made clear that connection: looking soft on Assad after accusing him of killing hundreds of people with chemical weapons may embolden his backers in Tehran to develop nuclear arms, Israeli officials said. And if they do, Israel may strike Iran alone, unsure Washington can be trusted.
Neither US ally is picking a fight with Obama in public. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the nation was "serene and self-confident"; Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal simply renewed a call to the "international community" to halt Assad's violence in Syria.
But the Saudi monarchy, though lacking Israel's readiness to attack Iran, can share the Jewish state's concern that neither may now look with confidence to Washington to curb what Riyadh sees as a drive by its Persian rival to dominate the Arab world.
more...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/As-Obama-blinks-on-Syria-Israel-and-Saudi-Arabia-make-common-cause/articleshow/22230927.cms
Israelis Warn Decision To Delay Syria Strike Will Be Seen As Weakness
By Edmund Sanders
August 31, 2013, 1:41 p.m.
JERUSALEM – Israelis reacted warily Saturday to the Obama administration’s decision to delay a strike against Syria, warning the move would likely be seen in the region as a sign of weakness.
Officials and pundits were particularly worried about how the delay would be interpreted in Iran, which is facing U.S. pressure to halt its nuclear development program, which the U.S. and Israel believe is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
Iran will see the U.S. as a “paper tiger,’’ said analyst Zvi Yehezkeli of Israel’s Channel 10.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued no formal reaction Saturday night.
But some predicted Obama’s hesitation would cause many in Israel to doubt the U.S. promise to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The U.S. has urged Israel – which is believed to possess the region’s only nuclear weapons – to refrain from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and leave the job to America’s military, if necessary.
MORE...
http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-israel-20130831,0,6775551.story
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